Review of The Religion of American Greatness | What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism

I am deeply indebted to the scholarship in this book. Not only has Dr. Miller pushed Christians (like me) to rethink and better develop their Christian political theory (I've been driven again towards Augustinian thought), but he has put on the "radar" phenomenon that are dismissed due to a poor philosophical inclination rooted within the Political Right. Hint: it is not conservativism.

Quite simply, the poor philosophical inclination he speaks of is a version of nationalism: Christian nationalism. If this idea is off-putting, uncomfortable, or spurs a visceral denial of its existence then this book is all the more necessary to read. As Justice Holmes quips, "a mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension." At the very least you can challenge and free your mind to explore these arguments (sorry, I do not mean to sound like Morpheus).

In this book, you will not find a caricature, manifesto, or "rant" directed at the more vehement actors on the Christian right. On the contrary, you find arguments that engage with the most esteemed proponents of nationalism (such as Hazony and S. Hunnington who express versions of Anglo-Protestant nationalism popular on the Right), discussions on what comprises a Christian nationalist, and genuine concerns to the illiberal inclinations it brings to the Political Right.

I think Dr. Miller argues correctly that Christian Nationalism, the desire to utilize the state to sponsor a Christian (Anglo-Saxon) culture and/or preserve a "Christian national heritage," is the Political Right's version of identity politics. Not only is it poor political philosophy, but the deeper point is that it is harmful to Christian public witness. Such arguments are eye-opening and best read in his words...not mine.

But I will say along with Dr. Miller that it is BECAUSE I am a Christian that I am politically conservative and have to fundamentally reject Christian nationalism because it is both illiberal (against the natural law) and a detriment to our witnessing to the world (though God uses it for good!). Reading this book requires an active, concentrated mind but yields great fruit and discussion. The Christian right needs this more than ever...

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Since I hate concluding on such a good topic, I will add one more thing that caught my eye: the subtle brilliance of his "free culture" argument. Namely, he develops the idea that government should not endorse cultures (both secular and religious) and instead allow for free cultural growth. At first I was against this since it is quite true that some cultures correctly promote some moral virtue (as Christianity does) that should be esteemed by a legitimate government. However, he differs between being morally neutral and culturally neutral. The government must commit to the latter, NOT the former. It is then that the birth of some interesting political theory comes...namely, what are these moral issues that the government sacrifices neutrality? Dr. Miller's answer is non-sectarian and perfect for civic republicanism: human flourishing, liberalism (not the democrat party type, the classical idea), equality, some basic philosophical assumption (like biological sex), and helping the poor. These present broad categories that I think open up a robust debate over natural law and how the government can best endorse it with non-sectarian grounds.

The content of this book review is of Dylan M. Kochan and NOT endorsed by the Bona Fide Blog nor its other writers.